The Eye Edit

I think it's safe to say that I have a slight addiction to eye makeup. Approximately half of my makeup collection is made up  of various eye products, and it's crazy how just a quick swipe of eyeliner or a neutral eyeshadow can change your appearance completely. One of my favourite ways to switch up my everyday makeup is to mix and match with different eyeshadows (all neutral of course), and if I'm having a bad skin day I even throw on some winged eyeliner to detract from my skin crisis. 

Eyeshadow // I never really used to wear eyeshadow because I never understood what you could really do with it. But then entering the world of beauty I learnt all about cut creases, inner corners, and blending out. Throwback to five or six years ago and ask me about eyeshadow, I'd probably have no idea about the words that were coming out of your mouth. All I needed back then was a liquid eyeliner (and lots of it), but now... eyeshadow has taken over and its all I ever really wear. My usual go-tos are the Charlotte Tilbury quads (particularly Dolce Vita and Vintage Vamp), and the Maybelline The Nudes Palette. 

Eyeliner // I've had a love affair with eyeliner for the last nine years or so. It all began with a brown eyeliner pencil from Claire's, and I gradually moved onto liquid eyeliner. I've tried a fair few over the years, but my current go-to is the Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner. I really didn't think I'd like it when I got it as I've never really got on with felt tip style eyeliners, but shockingly I fell in love with it!

Mascara // Again I've been using mascara for the best part of 10 years. It began by being clear, then I switched to brown, then electric blue (circa 2008), and then black in the latter years. I had a longstanding obsession with the Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara, and although I still use it occasionally, I discovered ones I enjoyed using more. On a more day-to-day basis I use the Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes 5 Star Mascara, and for more special occasions I use the Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara as it helps hold more of a curl.

Tools // I've been using an eyelash curler ever since I heisted my mum's aged 12. And although that one is long gone, I've only ever owned two since. I bought a No7 one from Boots when I was about 15, but when that broke I upgraded to a NARS one that is now my holy grail. I've had it for three years now(??), and it still looks (and feels) as good as it did when I first purchased it. In the last five years or so I've also gotten really into makeup brushes, and I swear by the Real Techniques collection. They sell every brush you could ever need, and I own very few from other brands.

What is your favourite eye product?

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December Beauty Favourites

I can't believe we're in 2016! I know I've already written a post this year, but I wrote that last year so technically this is my first post. At the start of December I didn't really expect myself to switch things up from the previous month, however I did - massively! With the festive season in full swing I decided to switch out my hypothetical makeup bag (I for some reason don't own one?) and chuck in some more luxurious products. First to go in was the Essie top coat in 'A Cut Above' Obviously everyone needs a smidgen of glitter in their life and this was one of my go-to polishes throughout December. I worn it on my fingers and toes at every opportunity, and personally I thought that it looked sexy af. Carrying on with the glitter, I developed quite an addiction to the Lush Christmas range. In particular those with glitter! I really liked the Bar Humbug bubble bar, which smelt like blackcurrant and liquorice. I repurchased it quite a few times as the scent was really relaxing and perfect for soothing the end of semester deadline stress.  

After much consideration, I finally decided on the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in 'Candy Apple' as my Christmas day lip. I had so much trouble deciding and seeing as though I had worn it pretty much everyday throughout November and December, I felt it only fitting to wear it on the big day. Of course it had nothing to do with how low maintenance it is, and the fact that I couldn't be bothered to waste my time topping up anything else! I worn it alongside my Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Warm Eye Palette, which I actually wore last Christmas as well! I love how buttery the shadows are, and they felt so luxurious! On the day I worn every single shade in the palette, however I have been wearing each in different combinations throughout December so I just had to include it in my monthly favourites post! 

And finally! Last but not least, we have the No7 Sheer Perfections Blush in Soft Damson. I wear this pretty much everyday anyway, but it got an extra lot of loving throughout the party season! I have spoken about it many times before so I'm not going to bore you all to death, but it is a gorgeous pink-berry powder blush! 

What did you love during December?
Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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November Beauty Favourites

Apologies, as this post is going to be rather short and sweet as I haven't been mixing much up since my last monthly favourites post. There has only been a couple of things I have been loving. I have 'shopped my stash' and had a good rummage through my collection to see what I could use. I've also purchased a couple of new things that I have been loving too - so here we are again! 

Whilst rummaging though my collection, I came across the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Candy Apple and thought it would be perfect to wear in the run up to the festive season. It is a gorgeously sheer red that is perfect for everyday wear and I have been loving wearing it to university! I have also been loving all the compliments I've got when I've worn it! Another rediscovery is the Soap and Glory Perfect Ten Eyeshadow Palette - this was a limited edition palette that I bought myself last christmas, and they have it (or an extremely similar one) back in this christmas! It is extremely similar to the original Urban Decay Naked palette, and being from Soap and Glory, the quality of the shadows is incredible! They are so buttery and very well pigmented, so if you're in the market for a cheaper neutral palette, or are simply looking for some christmas gifts - definitely check this one out!

At the end of October I reordered the Liz Earle skin bundle, and the free gift inside the bundle was the Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint. I didn't really think I'd use it, but since my skin has started (and fingers crossed continues) to clear up, I have really enjoyed using this in place of my foundation.  To apply it, I have been using the Crown Brush SS003 Deluxe Medium Oval Foundation Brush* which I am in love with! It gives such a natural finish and is perfect for applying liquid foundation and BB creams! 

What one thing have you been enjoying this month?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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___________________

The SS003 Deluxe Medium Oval Foundation Brush (RRP £7.19) was kindly sent to me by Crown Brush UK for the purpose of a review. All thoughts are my own and you can read my full disclaimer policy here. 

My Makeup Collection: Eyeshadow

I feel like I have been neglecting the beauty aspect of my 'beauty and lifestyle' blog recently. The majority of my posts have been gravitating towards lifestyle and I'm starting to miss photographing gorgeous products and their equally gorgeous packaging. So I thought I'd introduce a few new series on the blog and even start a few back up again (*cough* Skincare Sunday *cough*).

As you can tell from the post title, in this new series I am going to be showing you my makeup collection - which isn't huge, but it is certainly bigger than the average makeup collection. But I can use being a blogger as an excuse to buy more right? First things first, just to get it out of the way - some of the products photographed in the series may have been gifted to me by brands, but as always I'll make sure I highlight which ones and you can read my disclaimer comes under the FAQ drop down menu underneath my blog title if you wish.

As you can kinda see from the photo, I have quite a few - ranging from a couple of quid, to insane prices that I try and forget about. So there's something for every budget! Most of my collection are fairly neutral shades as I like to play it fairly safe and you can never have too many neutral eyeshadows. I prefer to buy palettes with multiple shades in as opposed to single eyeshadow pans as I just find them more luxurious, easier to travel with, and I can mix and match looks from complimentary shades.

So I'll start off with the premium eyeshadow palettes. I have three in total - the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette, the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Coded Eyeshadow Quad in Dolce Vita, and the Bobbie Brown Warm Eye Palette. Charlotte Tilbury and NARS have to be two of my all time favourite premium brands. They offer such high quality and luxury products. I have quite a large collection of NARS products and I am poised and ready, waiting for student loan to come in so I can get my hands on some more Charlotte Tilbury! ;) The three palettes have such buttery shadows that are extremely easy to blend. The NARS palette especially has brilliant pigmentation, although the other two aren't that far behind. Unlike all my other eyeshadow palettes, you can also use it (the NARS) with a wet brush to give an intenser look to your makeup. 

For those of you with a more limited budget, Soap and Glory offer shadows that are very similar to those in my Bobbie Brown Palette. I have two of the limited edition palettes from Soap and Glory, and they are regularly bringing out more and more. When they don't have any limited edition palettes on the shelves, they offer some beautiful quads with complimentary shades similarly to the Charlotte Tilbury quad. They have such a large range of shades too, varying from my sacred neutrals to earth greens and blues. I also have a couple of the No7 loose shadows and a little Stay Perfect trio in the shade 'Good Earth' that I use to fill in and highlight my brows. 

And thats pretty much my entire collection! What is your favourite eyeshadow in your makeup bag at the moment?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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April Favourites

How is it the end of the month already? The time to write these posts comes around so fast! And to start the post off, I wanted to include the Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara again. I know I included it in last month's favourites posts, but I have used it religiously throughout April and I've fallen in love with it even more! It makes your lashes look super long and fluttery. I really want to get around to trying the new Benefit Roller Lash. But that may have to wait until this one has dried up!

Towards the start of the month, Burberry launched the release of their new Burberry Kisses Lipstick*. They came up with an ingenious Twitter campaign to  give away some samples and I was incredibly lucky to be sent one! I chose the shade Sepia as I am a lover of 'your lips but better' kind of lipsticks. I have worn this repeatedly, and I will definitely be buying the full size when my sample size runs out!

I've been pairing the lipstick with my Charlotte Tilbury Colour Coded Eyeshadow in Dolce Vita and I must say they go together perfectly! The golden tones in the eyeshadows compliment the colour of the lipstick and together they make your skin glow! Been loving wearing the combination for days where I decided to make more of an effort.

When I haven't used the Charlotte Tilbury quad, I have LOVED using the limited edition NARSissist Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette. It comes with a mini Wet/Dry Eyeshadow brush (the full size one costs £24 alone!) which is incredibly handy for on the go application! The thing about these eyeshadows is that you can use them wet for a more intense look. I am yet to try using them wet as they are incredibly pigmented as they are, however I am excited to see the effects!

Finally, we have the Benefit Porefessional primer. I wasn't a fan when I first bought it, but it is slowly growing on me now! I love the fact that it's tinted as all of my other primers are clear/white. I feel that this gives a little extra coverage so is perfect for achieving a flawless look!

What have you all been enjoying this last month? I would love to know!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x
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My Collection: Charlotte Tilbury

After many years of being a highly sought after makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury released her own range of makeup a few years ago. But it wasn't till the end of last year that I really noticed her products, when everyone was raving about the release of the Matte Revolution Lipsticks. They looked so beautiful that I had to have one of them. The signature rose gold packaging, the sleek square bullet - everything just screaming perfection. 

I finally jumped on the bandwagon in November and bought one in the shade 'Amazing Grace' as an early christmas present for myself. I fell in love with it instantly and wore it on pretty much an everyday basis for months! I even ditched the red lip on christmas for this beauty. 

After loving the lipstick sooooooo much I decided to branch out and see if the quality of her other products matched that of my new favourite lipstick. I bought the Film Star Bronze and Glow duo and I nearly fainted when opening the packaging (and when handing over the money). Not even the gold packaging. Just the outer packaging that you are meant to throw away (or hoard away in a drawer to never look at again).

Almost immediately after buying the Film Star Bronze and Glow, I found myself browsing the Charlotte Tilbury stand in Harvey Nichols and couldn't help but swoon over everything. I decided to treat myself to the Colour Coded Eyeshadow Quad in Dolce Vita after my friend pretty much took the money out of my purse herself to make sure I bought it. They are so buttery and I'm currently lusting after the different colour combinations on offer!

What have you all tried from Charlotte Tilbury and what are your recommendations for me to try next?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x
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February Faves

How is it that time of the month again already? It seems only two minutes since I was writing my last favourites post! But without further a due, here are my favourite beauty products this month!

There have been a couple of new purchases this month that have really bowled me over and made such a fantastic first impression! One of those has been the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Coded Eyeshadow Quad in Dolce Vita which was a very 'in the moment' impulse buy. I have been eyeing this up for absolutely ages and I finally caved and bought it whilst in Harvey Nichols at the beginning of the month. I was so amazed with the quality of the shadows. I know that Charlotte Tilbury always has the highest, most sought after quality - and these were no exception! They are so creamy, almost like a cream eyeshadow. Being this creamy means you get very minimal fallout (yaaaaay!) and they are super easy to blend (and I mean ridiculously easy!). Even without all those fancy blending brushes. I have once even used my finger when desperate and the final outcome still looks great!

Another new purchase was the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anna. I have been wearing this shade pretty much every day and it has received many compliments! I was singing its praises to one of my friends who, when realising that I loved it so much, decided to try and scratch the NARS logo off the side of the bullet. Luckily they were joking and I came immediately to its rescue!

This friend also happened to be the one who bought me the nail varnish that has been featuring heaving on my toes this month! The Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in 'Rosy Outlook' has been constantly on my toes this month as we slowly start to see signs of spring. It is such an adorable shade and I love it so much!

And finally, the star of the show has been the Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot powder which I have worn every makeup wearing day of the month! I have been recently opting for a more natural bases, mainly using bb creams and sheer foundations, and this powder has been perfect for finishing off my looks! It isn't too cakey which is perfect for those 'no makeup, makeup' days.

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x
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